Playbook: Compliance & Safety

Rob Carpenter Monday, June 2, 2025

A Practical Guide to CVSA Brake Safety Week 2025

With over 12% of trucks sidelined during last year’s CVSA Brake Safety Week, the 2025 focus on rotors and brake drums puts heavy-duty and vocational trucks in the crosshairs. This guide breaks down what inspectors look for and how clean, well-maintained rigs are more likely to pass or avoid inspection altogether.

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Rob Carpenter Friday, May 23, 2025

When Health Becomes Highway Hazard

With 1 in 3 drivers only medically qualified for short-term certification, and FMCSA policy updates arriving next month, fleets must treat driver fitness like the operational risk it is. A house in New Jersey hit by a truck might have been spared. The next one might not.

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Rob Carpenter Monday, April 28, 2025

Motive’s Vision 25 Conference Reimagines Fleet Safety Culture with AI and a Personal Touch

At Motive’s Vision 25 Summit, fleet leaders saw firsthand how AI-powered tools can transform safety, efficiency and driver culture. With new AI features like Motive AI Coach, real-time fatigue detection, fraud prevention and natural language analytics, Motive emphasized that technology should serve, not replace the people behind the wheel. Real-world success stories and a major courtroom win against Omnitracs reinforced that Motive’s future isn’t just built on innovation, but on trust, transparency and tangible results for fleets ready to lead the next era of trucking.

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Rob Carpenter Tuesday, April 15, 2025

Fleets Face Privacy Challenges as Workplace Surveillance Looks at Major Overhaul

A proposed California law, Assembly Bill 1331, could upend how trucking fleets monitor drivers by prohibiting dashcam and GPS surveillance during off-duty periods, even inside the vehicle. If passed, the bill would redefine off-duty time as private, creating costly compliance challenges and raising concerns about safety, theft prevention, and liability. With $500 penalties per violation and the potential for lawsuits, fleets operating in California, and nationwide, may need to rethink how they balance privacy with operational oversight.

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Rob Carpenter Tuesday, April 8, 2025

Fleets Face Privacy Challenges as Workplace Surveillance Looks at Major Overhaul

A proposed California law, Assembly Bill 1331, could upend how trucking fleets monitor drivers by prohibiting dashcam and GPS surveillance during off-duty periods, even inside the vehicle. If passed, the bill would redefine off-duty time as private, creating costly compliance challenges and raising concerns about safety, theft prevention, and liability. With $500 penalties per violation and the potential for lawsuits, fleets operating in California, and nationwide, may need to rethink how they balance privacy with operational oversight.

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Rob Carpenter Monday, March 24, 2025

Evolving Beyond Reactive Maintenance Models to Predictive Success

Fleet maintenance has evolved beyond the old-school break-fix mentality. While preventive maintenance is a step up from waiting for breakdowns, predictive maintenance, powered by telematics and AI diagnostics, is the new gold standard. By using real-time data to forecast failures before they happen, fleets can drastically cut repair costs, improve safety, and reduce costly downtime.

Technology-driven platforms like Motive and Fleetio enable fleets to automate diagnostics, optimize maintenance schedules, and track performance metrics in real time. In an industry where compliance, efficiency, and cost control are everything, predictive maintenance is a necessity.

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Rob Carpenter Monday, March 24, 2025

FMCSA Ditches MC Numbers: What Carriers Must Know

The FMCSA is eliminating MC numbers by October 1, 2025, requiring all motor carriers, brokers, and freight forwarders to operate under a single USDOT number. This change aims to streamline registration, reduce fraud, and improve compliance tracking. While the transition simplifies carrier identification, it raises new challenges for brokers, shippers, and industry professionals accustomed to MC-based vetting. With potential impacts on contracts, insurance, and fraud prevention, fleets must prepare now to ensure a smooth transition. Here’s what the trucking industry needs to know before the deadline arrives.

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